Oakland Athletics - TeamReport

February 18, 2013|Reuters

MLB Team Report - Oakland Athletics - INSIDE PITCH

The theme of this year's Oakland A's camp is versatility and interchangeability, and it's on display everywhere.

For two men in particular, the team's plan to have several frontline players play multiple positions will not be easy. Chris Young will be hopping all over the outfield -- and he will have to learn both corner spots to do so. And Jed Lowrie, a shortstop most of his career, will be playing all of the infield spots.

Lowrie arrived in camp Feb. 16 and said that he prefers to play one position every day, but, he added, that's the same for every player, a sentiment that manager Bob Melvin agreed with.

"I've proven I can play shortstop every day, and I think that's what I am, an everyday shortstop who can play other positions," Lowrie said. "And that's not a bad thing."

Of course, last spring, the A's said that Yoenis Cespedes would be in center field full time and that Coco Crisp would move to left field; the team wanted Cespedes, a center fielder in Cuba, to feel comfortable. By May, Cespedes was in left and Crisp was back in center.

Lowrie is considered a better defensive shortstop than the Athletics' free agent signee from Japan, Hiro Nakajima. Again, though, the team wants Nakajima to focus on one thing, and that's playing shortstop, while he's dealing with acclimating to so many other things in the United States.

Nakajima, however, has volunteered to play anywhere, and he played second base for the Japanese national team.

Meanwhile, numerous outfielders are following Brandon Moss' lead. Moss converted from the outfield to first base last year, and the is now Oakland's first baseman. Minor league outfielders Michael Taylor and Shane Peterson have been working out at first base, too, and A's designated hitter/outfielder Seth Smith said he would have interest in playing first base because he'd like to be more versatile.

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MLB Team Report - Oakland Athletics - NOTES, QUOTES

--RHP Grant Balfour will miss four to six weeks after arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. The injury was considered minor, and Balfour is expected back for Opening Day. He had no swelling in the knee the day after surgery, and he already could bend the knee. Balfour was not scheduled to pitch in a game for another 2 1/2 weeks, anyway, he pointed out.

--INF Jed Lowrie arrived in camp and said that he considers himself an everyday shortstop and, like every other player, he'd prefer to play just one position every day. The former Red Sox and Astros shortstop might be out of luck; the Athletics' initial plan is for him to be a super-utility player, in the lineup every day but bouncing around the infield. If rookie Japanese shortstop Hiro Nakajima falters at any point, Lowrie could wind back at short full time.

--OF Chris Young will learn both corner outfield positions this spring, manager Bob Melvin said, because he will be the one Oakland outfielder rotating among the three spots. All of the team's outfielders will shuttle through the DH spot, too.

--OF Michael Taylor, who has spent three consecutive seasons at Class AAA Sacramento, is learning to play first base, with famous "Moneyball" catcher-to-first base convert Scott Hatteberg helping him, along with former big-league manager Phil Garner. The A's are packed in the outfield, and the current Oakland first baseman is a converted outfielder, Brandon Moss.

--OF/DH Seth Smith said he would have interest in playing some first base to increase his versatility, he told the San Francisco Chronicle. Smith is likely to get fewer at-bats this season with the Athletics' four everyday outfielders all cycling through the DH spot. The team's current first baseman, Brandon Moss, is himself a converted outfielder.

BY THE NUMBERS: 52 -- RBI for Scott Sizemore in 93 games with Oakland in 2011. Sizemore missed all of last season with a torn knee ligament, but he is back and the front-runner for the Athletics' second base job.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's something I've got to control. Sometimes intensity is good, and sometimes it's a huge negative. The thing is to find a happy place, a middle ground." -- OF Josh Reddick, to the San Francisco Chronicle, on his habit of throwing helmets and slamming bats when he strikes out.

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MLB Team Report - Oakland Athletics - ROSTER REPORT

PROJECTED ROTATION:

1. LHP Brett Anderson

2. RHP Jarrod Parker

3. LHP Tommy Milone

4. RHP A.J. Griffin

5. RHP Bartolo Colon (after suspension ends)

Anderson lost 20 pounds or so when rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last year, and he appeared to be better than ever when he returned in August. Parker led A's starters in most categories as a rookie, and he and Milone both racked up 13 wins.